


Better Late Than Never

by justme133



Category: Big Wolf on Campus
Genre: Finally together, M/M, Modern Day Fic, Oneshot, They're All Grown Up Now, future fic for them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 06:37:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18405158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justme133/pseuds/justme133
Summary: 13 years is a long time to wait for your mate to come home.





	Better Late Than Never

**Author's Note:**

> Man this show. I'm trash and I know it. I REGRET NOTHING.
> 
> ...

Thomas P. Dawkins was 34 years old, the head football coach for his alma mater Pleasantville High School, home of the Angry Badgers. Besides the increase in technology over the years, the halls of Pleasantville High barely seemed to have changed.

 

Many things in Pleasantville rarely changed.

 

He sighed as he locked up the small office that he used when he wasn't training the team, thinking about what had happened today. He had had so many kids come through this office to talk to him. Everyone loved Tommy Dawkins - so many students had heard how he was so nice, the kind-hearted son of the late mayor Bob Dawkins, brother to the now mayor Dean Dawkins. Everyone knew he didn't judge, and that whatever they spoke to him about stayed between them.

 

He had been almost shocked when one of his best players came into his office, pulling a slighter boy behind him.  The player, whose name was Dylan, was tall and broad, with short dark blonde hair and warm blue eyes; the teen who he had brought with him, Tommy soon learned to be named Max, was slight in size, with frizzy brown hair that brushed his ears and wide brown eyes rimmed with silver glasses. They contrasted each other quite a bit.

 

“Coach,” Dylan had started, eyes darting between him and Max. “C-can I tell you something?”

 

“Yeah, of course,” Tommy said, tapping his pen against his desk. His stomach turned, a flashback of his own high school days coming to mind as he saw the look Max gave Dylan.  _ How many times had he been looked at like that but was too afraid to do anything? _

 

“I'm gay.” Tommy nodded, giving Dylan a small smile. He watched his shoulders relax as he scooted his chair closer to the other teen, slipping his arm around his shoulders. Tommy just had another flashback of his own arm snug around slim shoulders. “This is my boyfriend. I just… you know how the town is. I didn't know who else to talk to.”

 

“I get it. Its okay.” And it was - it took Tommy way too long, but he never wanted anyone to feel like they were wrong for feeling like they did. Dylan and Max had both given him such a grateful smile that it made his own heart ache. He was glad that his kids felt they could trust in him, confide in him. He wanted to help them the way he should've been helped so many years ago. 

 

As he got out to his car - an older Jeep Wrangler - he thought about how much things had changed. 

 

When he had been 18, he had been on top of the world - Captain of the football team, popular, and everyone loved him. Now he was all grown up, teaching football, and everyone  _ still _ loved him.

 

Well, they loved the him that they saw. 

 

The parts that they didn't see, the parts that never seemed to change, were the facts that Tommy was a werewolf. Only a handful of people knew, and he liked it that way. The important people knew. That's all that mattered.

 

Merton knew. Tommy let out a huff as he thought about Merton. He was his best friend, even after 13 years of being separated, Merton still had his place in his life, just like Tommy knew he had in his. They talked  _ at least _ once a week, if not more. Merton came back for the holidays every year, and as soon as they were together, it was like they were never apart. 

 

Tommy was so completely in love with Merton. Not to mention that the wolf, that uncontrollable snarling half of Tommy, had claimed Merton as his mate as soon as he had scented him on that first day of Senior year.

 

That was something that he knew wouldn't change either. Seeing the two boys today had just reinforced how he felt. And it wasn't just him. The wolf inside of him felt it too, a deep longing, an unbreakable bond that had been forged in that one moment on the first day of Senior year. 

 

And Tommy had let him go. Merton had wanted to travel the world, escape Pleasantville as far as he could go. Tommy and the wolf wanted to stay here, in their territory, and he had seen it, the hesitation in those blue eyes - Merton would have stayed, if Tommy had asked. And hell, Tommy had wanted to ask.

 

But he couldn't ask Merton to give up everything just for him. Not when he was too much of a wuss to tell him how he felt.

 

No matter how much it hurt him to be separated from him. 

 

Tommy got home to his small one bedroom apartment, stopping when he felt the wolf tense up. He had gotten a good grip on his relationship with the wolf that he didn't even wolf out anymore unless it was a full moon. The wolf was docile, but now, he felt antsy. All the thoughts of Merton were doing it he supposed. 

 

He went into his bathroom, staring at his reflection. Tommy hadn't seemed to change much - he was still well-muscled, shoulders strong and body fit. His hair was still curly, that sandy brown that everyone always commented on; he had some stubble now across his cheeks and chin, and a few more laugh lines around his eyes when he smiled, but the dimples and crooked smile didn't change. 

 

No, Tommy Dawkins was still Tommy Dawkins.

 

Pulling off his coaching jersey and leaving himself in jeans and a white tee, he left his apartment.

 

The wolf needed a run.

 

…

 

Merton J. Dingle had seemed to finally find his niche in the world when he left Pleasantville. Now 35, he was a well-known author of fantasy and supernatural stories, most centered around a lone Alpha werewolf and a snarky sorcerer sidekick.

 

_ Sound familiar? _

 

Merton closed his laptop that was in his lap and glanced at the watch on his wrist. His plane was due to land in less than an hour. He slipped his computer into his carry-on bag and then leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.

 

He thought about how his life had turned out, how his Senior year of high school had made his life completely upside down than what he had expected.

 

Tommy had turned his life upside down. He had been the one to help Tommy when his own life had gotten twisted around. He had been the one to help Tommy learn how to control the wolf that he had become while still balancing his life as a normal high school student.

 

Unlike everyone else in their school, Merton hadn’t cared that Tommy was the captain of the football team, or super popular, or anything like that. He liked Tommy for himself, wolf or not. That was why they worked so well together - Merton saw past all of Tommy’s facade, and Tommy saw through his; Merton was a Goth, that much was true, but underneath all of the humor and sarcasm was just a normal teenager.

 

Merton loved Tommy way too much. Even now, 13 years later, Merton knew he was still completely head over heels in love with Tommy Dawkins, wolf and all.

 

He opened his eyes as the ‘fasten seatbelt’ light flashed on. Merton hadn’t seemed to change much over the years - his hair was still deep black (thanks to a few good dye jobs), but instead of the spikes he wore in high school, it was now just down, barely brushed half the time; his eyes were still the same deep blue, still held his desire for knowledge, but now surrounded by black glasses as well; his clothing style hadn’t changed much - for example, he was currently in black jeans and a gray button-down. The most major difference were the two black studs that sparkled in his earlobes. 

 

As the plane began its descent, he thought about what he was doing.

 

He had given up everything he dreamt of once before, his dream school and life, to come back to Pleasantville, to be with Tommy. And even though nothing ever really came of the two of them during their college years - both of them too stupid to admit how they felt, Merton wouldn’t change a thing. So, when he had gotten offers to leave Pleasantville, to follow his dreams of being a writer, he almost didn’t go. Tommy had told he had to, to not give up his dream, not for him.

 

And so, Merton left. Sure, they talked all the time, emailed, video chatted, and Merton came to see him once a year, at least. But there was still that connection, that longing that Merton had felt ever since he had watched Tommy stare at him in the hallway, eyes flashing yellow before he turned away.

 

Merton got off the plane with everyone else, his bag slipped over his shoulder, suitcase in hand as he made his way out to the line of waiting cars. Before long, he was sitting in the backseat of a dark SUV, watching trees stream by, only one sign catching his eye.

 

_ Welcome to Pleasantville _ .

…

 

Tommy groaned as he stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. The wolf had run until they were both out of breath, so when he returned, he took a hot shower to sooth his aches.

 

Out of habit, he glanced at his phone.

 

There was a message from Merton.

 

**_713 Marville Rd._ **

 

His heart began to beat rapidly in his chest, the wolf itching to come loose again. Tommy knew that address - it was a small 3-bedroom home that had been on the market in Pleasantville for the last 5 years. No one wanted it since its backyard was right on the edge of the woods which were claimed to be haunted. 

 

Getting dressed as quickly as he could, he grabbed his keys and got into his jeep, his heart racing. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but what were the odds?

 

…

 

Merton let himself into the small house, grateful that his books sold well enough that he had been able to get everything set up remotely while he finished up his business. He glanced at the car in the driveway, a small black compact, all black windows, all black rims. It was no hearse, but it would do.

 

Looking into the house, it almost felt like home. The living room had been painted a deep midnight blue, a low black sofa and recliner dominating a large portion of it; the kitchen was done in black and white tile, a low blackwood dining table nestled in the corner with three dining chairs. 

 

Moving in farther, he stepped into what would be his -  _ and maybe someone else’s too if he wasn’t a complete idiot - _ bedroom; he had had it painted a deep violet, which contrasted nicely with the large silver full moon and starry sky  that was painted on one wall. A large King size bed decked out in black with silver trim satin sheets with matching comforter took up most of the space, leaving enough room for a black dresser - which remained empty minus two drawers for himself - and the closet, where most of his clothes were already hung up. All of his personal belongings were already in place, as if he had been living here for months instead of less than a week.

 

Technically, this was his first time actually  _ in _ the house.

 

He stepped out of the bedroom and went to the smaller room across the hall - this would be his office, a black desk with a high-backed chair in one corner, his shelves and knick-knacks already in place. This room was like a miniature version of the Lair he had at his parents house. 

 

The last room was much more brighter than the rest of the house. This room wasn’t for him, but for someone else. The walls were painted a soft orange, almost a sunset color; there were shelves, but many of them were empty, waiting to be filled; a large TV was against the wall, with a large recliner in front of it. Against one wall was a mini fridge and a small table. And hanging up against the other wall, in a glass case, was the championship jersey Tommy had given Merton when the high school team had won state; underneath it was a photo of Merton and Tommy, the two of them grinning cheesily for the camera.

 

With a deep breath, he hoped he hadn’t made a mistake in coming back home this time.

 

…

 

Tommy pulled into the driveway, seeing lights on in the small house for once. He eyed the small black car, his mind already turning into overdrive as the wolf tried to take ahold of him. As he stepped out, he was assaulted with a smell that he knew all too well, even if he hadn’t smelled it in what seemed like forever.

 

_ Merton _ . Merton was  _ here _ . Merton was  _ home _ . The wolf wanted to howl - his mate had come back, finally! Tommy stamped down that feeling though and moved to the door, wanting to knock, but deciding against it, letting himself in. He felt more at home in this house that he had just stepped foot in than the apartment he had lived in for so long.

 

The wolf was in a frenzy. It smelled like home - like the Lair, and Merton, and everything Tommy had been missing since they parted ways all those years ago. The smell of Merton was so strong that it made him dizzy, a whine leaving his lips as he looked around anxiously. His vision was hazy, the wolf trying so hard to start searching for the Goth.

 

And then Merton was there, his hands on his face, speaking soft words - Tommy didn’t even know he was about to wolf out until that moment; it had been so long since he had lost control like this, he had almost forgotten what it felt like.

 

“Hey, it’s okay big guy. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. It’s okay,” Merton said, seeing the glowing yellow eyes look at him in distress. Tommy whined again, bringing his arms to wrap tightly around the still slender  figure of his best friend.

 

The wolf inside receded, seeming to understand that Tommy needed to be in control right now, not him. Tommy took a deep breath, leaning into the dark hair of his friend, breathing in the deep raw scent that was all Merton.

 

“You’re here.”

 

“I’m here.”

 

“For good?”

 

“I bought this house. I’m not going anywhere.” Merton looked up, grinning at Tommy now. “Better late than never, right?”

 

Tommy kissed Merton, their lips fitting together like they had been doing this for years instead of for the first time at this very moment. Merton moaned into the kiss, his hands now fisting into the soft fabric of Tommy’s shirt. Tommy growled, pulling his lips away to pepper kisses along Merton’s neck, his hands bunching tightly into the fabric at his waist. 

Neither one of them flinched as Tommy wolfed out, his claws now digging into Merton's sides, holding him against him.

 

Tommy was beyond all sense. Merton was back. Merton was  _ home. _ He was here, with him. 

 

This time, Tommy didn’t plan on letting go.

 

…

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading <3


End file.
